Citi predicts the tokenized securities market will grow to $5.5 trillion by 2030
Citi says tokenized real-world assets could grow from $17 billion today to $5.5 trillion by 2030. The bank sees stablecoins, clearer U.S. rules, and big market operators pushing adoption.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
Citi’s new report argues tokenization is moving from tests into mainstream finance, with the biggest gains likely in public markets like U.S. Treasuries and stocks. The bank says stablecoin growth, clearer regulation, and support from major trading infrastructures could drive a parallel onchain market worth trillions by 2030.
Citi thinks a lot more things like stocks and government bonds could be turned into digital versions on a blockchain. Right now, that market is small, but Citi says it could become huge by 2030.
The idea is a bit like turning paper tickets into app tickets. Big financial firms, digital cash, and clearer rules could make buying and selling much faster.
Citi says the change will not happen all at once. Old systems and new systems may run side by side for years, until the new way becomes the normal way.
Analysis
Citi’s base case
Citi says tokenization of real-world assets could rise from about $17 billion today to $5.5 trillion by 2030, with a range from $2.7 trillion to $8.2 trillion depending on how quickly adoption scales. The report, shared with CoinDesk ahead of Proof of Talk in Paris, frames tokenization as a shift out of the testing phase and into normal market plumbing.
Where the growth comes from
The bank points to three drivers. First, major market operators are building tokenization directly into their trading systems. The article cites DTCC’s limited production trades planned for July and a broader platform launch in October, Nasdaq’s work on blockchain-based shares, and Intercontinental Exchange’s plans for tokenized stocks. Second, stablecoins and digital bank deposits could provide the instant payment leg needed for onchain settlement. Citi says stablecoins alone could grow to a $1.9 trillion market by 2030 and could create about $1 trillion of demand for U.S. government bonds as issuers hold Treasury bills as reserves.
Third, the regulatory backdrop is improving. The article says a key U.S. digital asset bill advanced out of the Senate Banking Committee on May 14 after a 15-9 bipartisan vote. Citi argues these changes make mainstream public markets the likely center of tokenization, especially U.S. Treasuries and stocks, rather than private markets that are harder to trade and slower to change.
What Citi expects next
Citi assumes 10% of the U.S. Treasury bill market and 3% of the U.S. public stock market could be tokenized by 2030. It also says that if 10% of everyday U.S. investors move to digital trading platforms, that would create $2.6 trillion in demand for digital stocks. The report’s key caveat is that old and new systems will coexist for years, creating an advantage for large “structural orchestrators” that control both the asset side and the payment rails.
Citi compares the transition to the rollout of electronic toll tags: the shift is gradual, messy, and costly before it becomes standard.
Key points
- Citi projects tokenized real-world assets could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030 in its base case.
- The report says stablecoins and clearer U.S. regulation are helping tokenization move into mainstream markets.
- DTCC, Nasdaq, and ICE are all described as building tokenization into market infrastructure.
- Citi expects public markets like U.S. Treasuries and stocks to dominate adoption, not private assets.
- The bank says large firms that control both assets and payment rails could gain an edge.
